


What did you know that i did not

by DoubleL27



Series: A Hazy Shade of Stevie [6]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Canon Language Compliant, Drinking, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, Romantic Fluff, Tenderness, awkward girls in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21796123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoubleL27/pseuds/DoubleL27
Summary: Twyla was so fucking understanding, Stevie couldn’t quite stand it. Nothing had really changed between them since the fateful day Stevie had embarrassed herself in the diner, except that everything had.  Stevie would go sit at the bar alone to just have a few snippets of conversation with Twyla while she worked. Twyla would come over and they would read or watch a stupid TV show or get high and listen to music.  It was like they were real friends again.Except underneath it all was an undercurrent of yearning that kept pulling at Stevie like a riptide and wouldn’t let go.  She was tempted to let go and get swept out to the sea where her feelings for Twyla went far beyond friendship. Whenever she considered leaning into the current, memories of awkward silences and averted eyes would rise and Stevie fought it valiantly.Even as she regretted it.OrWhile on David's bachelor weekend in Elm Valley, Stevie and Twyla begin to figure some things out.
Relationships: Stevie Budd/Twyla Sands
Series: A Hazy Shade of Stevie [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569649
Comments: 18
Kudos: 41
Collections: Schitt's Creek Open Fic Night 2.0





	What did you know that i did not

**Author's Note:**

> This took a complete turn from what it originally was. Unbeta'd as I re-worked it entirely at the zero hour. I am entirely in love with it though.

Everything was warm in the best way, and Stevie knew she was one drink short of being fucked up. There was the temptation to tip it over the edge because she was sitting in a hotel bar and had already done two rounds of fucking karaoke because she was stupid enough to love David Rose as a human being. Right now he and Alexis were on stage utterly murdering _ I Wanna Dance With Somebody _ . Considering Stevie had already sung _ Girls Just Wanna Have Fun  _ when Twyla and Alexis had dragged her up there and played back-up to David’s rendition of _ Always Be My Baby,  _ earning her many glares from David with her muttering, she hoped she was done for good. 

The idiot did look stupid happy up there. So maybe she and Alexis couldn’t have afforded a whole ass trip to somewhere cool like New York or Tokyo for native cherry blossoms, but David seemed pretty satisfied with Elm Valley and their botanical gardens with cherry trees in full bloom. As much as he had rolled his eyes at Alexis spreading dick confetti all over their hotel room and had pointed out that he was an equal opportunity genital enjoyer, he was reveling in the return of Dana-Karaoke King. Stevie was pretty sure that the bottle of expensive (for normal people) champagne that had been waiting in the room when they had gotten back from dinner with a note that simply read  _ Knock em dead, Mariah _ had pushed the night over the edge. 

_ Fuck, _ tears burned the corner of her eyes and Stevie thought, not for the first time, that the price of friendship was having to have emotions. They sat uncomfortably in her chest, and made her feel full of things she didn’t want to experience. 

A warm hand slid over Stevie’s shoulder and tingles danced from it to Stevie’s spine. “You did good,” Twyla said, her soft voice curling in Stevie’s ear and adding another pound to the weight in her chest. 

“He doesn’t seem to hate it,” Stevie choked out, lifting her sleeve to dab at her eyes. 

“Hey, this place bringing back bad memories?”

Twyla was so fucking understanding, Stevie couldn’t quite stand it. Nothing had really changed between them since the fateful day Stevie had embarrassed herself in the diner, except that everything had. Stevie would go sit at the bar alone to just have a few snippets of conversation with Twyla while she worked. Twyla would come over and they would read or watch a stupid TV show or get high and listen to music. It was like they were real friends again. 

Except underneath it all was an undercurrent of yearning that kept pulling at Stevie like a riptide and wouldn’t let go. She was tempted to let go and get swept out to the sea where her feelings for Twyla went far beyond friendship. Whenever she considered leaning into the current, memories of awkward silences and averted eyes would rise and Stevie fought it valiantly. 

Even as she regretted it. 

Nimble fingers caught Stevie’s chin and tugged to turn her head, and Stevie followed obediently. There was kindness and something else lingering in pale green eyes that Stevie didn’t really want to think on it. “If you’re not okay, we can go upstairs. I don’t think anyone will miss us.”

Twyla’s inclusion had been an excuse for Alexis to not have to room with David and Stevie, and despite everything she was glad. The whole day, Stevie had been tucking moments away in her memory to pull out later and pour over like a grandmother with a photo album. There was the way Twyla had let Stevie take her bag to the car and load it without protesting or the silent laughter that had lingered in Twyla’s eyes when Stevie had looked back in the rear view mirror though David and Alexis’s squabbling on the drive. Twyla picking up confetti dicks with her finger and sticking them on her own face like a goof. Stevie’s favorite had been Twyla slipping her hand into Stevie’s in the botanical gardens and not letting go as they wandered through arches of delicate pink. 

“Stevie.”

“I—I’m fine,” Stevie managed, fluttering her hands in annoyance. “He’s just so happy and I am so happy for him.”

A gentle thumb, slightly rough from time spent doing dishes, brushed at a tear that had the audacity to fall. “You always hated having feelings.”

“Ugh.”

Stevie let her head fall forward and land on Twyla’s shoulder, not very far from her boobs.  _ Don’t think about that _ , Stevie told herself furiously. But Twyla smelled so good and looked hot as fuck in a tiny ass dress that Alexis had definitely lent her.  _ Thank God for Alexis _ .

“Come on. I don’t think we’ll be missed.”

Stevie turned her head and saw David yell out for Honey to be the next song that played and Alexis gave a happy clap. David’s groom sash that they had made was riding up so you could really only make out to-be and his plastic crown that had taken two rounds of shots to get on his head was askew. Alexis had one eyelash that was trying to escape her face and was looking rather wobbly on heels no normal person could bear. Twyla whispered, “They’ll be like that for hours.”

Twyla wasn’t wrong. The Roses were in full party mode and had no significant others to bring them to bed or to drunkenly kiss their partner’s sibling and ruin everyone’s fun but Stevie’s. 

“Hold on.” Stevie fumbled with her purse and pulled out her phone. Clicking a quick picture, Stevie checked it to make sure it wasn’t the worst before sending it off to Patrick with the message _ you’re marrying this. _ David was going to be pissed that there was photographic proof. She couldn’t wait. 

Twyla was still staring at her with the look that Stevie refused to think on. She gave a swift nod, though, knowing she was following the damn tide. “Alright, let’s go, but to your room. It was a bitch getting the confetti off.”

Twyla just nodded, but like at the botanical gardens, slipped her hand into Stevie’s and held on like Stevie was a lifeline. 

They made it to the elevators and rode up in a cloud of giggles over moments from the evening, from Stevie nearly falling on her ass when Alexis had started jumping on her during  _ Girls Just Want to Have Fun _ to David dedicating The Best to Patrick-who was not there-by calling him his “hyper-capable, unassumingly sexy fiancé” and catching his voice on a sob, to Twyla completely messing up the words to Stand By Your Man which she had claimed to know by heart. 

By the time the elevator stopped, Stevie wasn’t sure if she was holding up Twyla or if Twyla was holding her up. They shushed each other as they made their way down the hall, hands still clasped tight, giggles escaping like air bubbles underwater. 

It took Twyla three tries to maneuver the room key she pulled from her bra and unlock the door. They slid through with more giggles and Twyla untangled her hand from Stevie’s and made for the giant bureau. Rather than worry over the loss like one would after losing a tooth, Stevie toed off her shoes and felt instant relief as her aching feet hit the floor. 

“What are you doing?”

“Coffee?” Twyla asked, looking over her shoulder, eyebrow raised like Stevie was the crazy one. 

“No!” Stevie protested on a laugh, unhooking her bra through her dress and extracting it through one armhole. “Is this a weird Cafe habit? Enter a room, must start coffee?”

Twyla just shot her a look and dumped a terrible hotel packet of coffee grounds into the filter. “I just want to make sure David and Alexis get in safe. Can’t if we fall asleep.”

Stevie crossed to Twyla and recaptured the hand she had lost. Stevie face Twyla a soft tug to get her to turn her sage eyes to look at Stevie. “They’re just downstairs. They’ll be fine. Come on.”

Twyla abandoned her task just as quickly as she started, leaving a deconstructed coffee maker in her wake. Stevie pulled her over to the bed that had Twyla’s stuffed bunny perched amongst the pillows. “You brought Captain Hopscotch?”

There was not even a hint of guile in Twyla’s eyes as she answers. “He doesn’t like to be alone.”

Stevie was pretty sure that Twyla brought him because she doesn’t like to be alone. Still, a secret part of her soul felt like Captain Hopscotch saw too much through his glassy eyes. “He’s staring at me.”

Twyla crawled on the bed, heels still on, and lacy black underwear on display as she headed for Cpt. Hopscotch. The scene was so familiar as Twyla picked up the old, well loved bunny and whispered in his ear. “Stevie wants to be private. Off you go.”

He was deposited gently beside the bed, on the side table, and a worn away patch was clear on his behind, just around his tail. 

“Thanks.”

Twyla patted the bed next to her and Stevie crawled in just as awkwardly, hands and knees shuffling against the comforter before flopping down next to Twyla, laying on her side to face her friend. She looked so pretty, eyes half closed and long lashes fanning out over freckled cheeks, flushed with alcohol and exertion. Steive reached out and cupped Twyla’s face with her hand, her thumb running gently back and forth over the trail of freckles that looked like stars in the night sky. 

Stevie was rewarded as Twyla’s head turned to snuggle deeper into her hand and caress. Twyla made a sound that Stevie translated into a purr. Stevie smiled despite herself and kept up the meditative motion of her thumb over Twyla’s smooth skin. 

Twyla’s eyes fluttered open and Stevie froze. All pretense, if there had ever been any in Twyla, had dropped away and Stevie felt her stomach shimmy in a pleasing motion. 

“You know, I have missed you.”

“We’ve hung out so much lately,” Stevie reminded her, deliberately obtuse.

Twyla’s eyes fluttered closed. “I know. But I have missed you.” Her head nuzzled against Stevie’s hand again like a kitten seeking affection. “Maybe the possibility of you, is what I miss most.”

“I don’t--” Stevie choked on the denial because she couldn’t come up with the lie, not today. She knew exactly what Twyla meant. The what ifs had been spiraling out since the wreck of her fourteenth birthday and what might have been. The truth was that they might have ruined everything even if that night hadn’t blown up under the pressure of their mother’s fighting, sending shrapnel to shred their friendship. They could have done damage to each other in numerous ways over these last twenty years. They could have ruined things so they didn’t even have this moment.

But the what ifs still danced in her head. What if they had been happy? What if Twyla had been her high school sweetheart? What if?

“You know,” Twyla said, startling Stevie out of her thoughts. The same scary, unnamed emotion stayed in sage green irises as Twyla spoke barely above a whisper, “If you kiss me, our moms will not come flying through that door.”

Stevie swallowed the lump in her throat, but it wouldn’t move. “I think you have learned how to kiss by now.”

Twyla brought her own hand up to cup Stevie’s face, their arms crossing. “I haven’t learned how to kiss you.”

“Twyla.”

“Kiss me.”

It was just that simple. 

Stevie leaned in and pressed a kiss to Twyla’s lips that was just as chaste as the first one had been at fourteen. Twyla’s lips were soft, warm and welcoming. She smelled sweet and expensive, probably in one of Alexis’s perfumes, but she smelled a million times better than Alexis ever did. Long fingers twitched against Stevie’s cheek and she leaned into it as she deepened the kiss, lips moving to capture Twyla’s with her own. A thought skittered into her brain, the triumphant words of Sally Bowles dancing in her head. 

_ Maybe this time I’ll win. _

Her hand slipped from Twyla’s cheek to cup the back of Twyla’s head. Twyla’s tongue darted out and licked along Stevie’s bottom lip. It was a question and Stevie answered by parting her lips just enough for Twyla’s to slide inside. Stevie was floating in the riptide and it was bearing her away to a place she didn’t know. 

Stevie Budd didn’t get to have nice things.

_ Maybe this time I’ll win. _

Twyla mewled and shifted closer, cupping Stevie’s face with both of her long, capable hands. Heat suffused through Stevie’s body and a need pooled deep in her belly. Her hand fisted in Twyla’s hair and Stevie wanted to crawl inside Twyla and never leave. She wanted to wrap herself in strands of auburn hair that smelled like flowers and sunshine and never leave.

A giggle slipped from Twyla’s lips and Stevie pulled back to look at the woman next to her. “What?”

“I just...I was worried I had spent too long building this up in my mind.” Fingers brushed the hair out of Stevie’s face. “It was better. Kissing you was better than I had dreamed.”

Fuck. Tears gathered back in Stevie’s eyes as she looked into those damn eyes.

Her voice was hoarse as she asked, “How did you know? That this was going to feel like that?”

Stevie had been so paralysed by fear. Fear that it was going to be awful. Fear that she was going to fuck everything up. Fear that she wouldn’t ever be enough for anyone, but especially the person she seemed to want most in the world. 

“Because you always make everything better, Stevie. You always have.”

Damn it. The tears started falling down her cheeks. She’d had just enough alcohol to make it too hard to control. 

Twyla took another turn to wipe gently at Stevie’s tears. Then lips pressed carefully to her cheeks, and Twyla was kissing away her salty tears. Her voice sounded reverant when Twyla whispered, “Stevie.”

“I’m sorry. I just--I don’t know how I can make everything better for you when I can barely make anything better for myself. And you--you’re so--”

Stevie bit back the word _ perfect _ . Twyla would protest, and Stevie knew that no one really was perfect, but in this room and in this moment, Twyla was to her. 

Twyla surged forward and caught Stevie’s lips with her own. Stevie tasted the salt of her own tears mixed in with the heady taste of Twyla. Their tongues tangled and Stevie allowed Twyla to lay her back, her own willowy angel rising over her and pressing her into the mattress. Twyla kissed her like she wanted Stevie to be able to feel everything that she couldn’t say in words. It was passionate and overwhelming, and Stevie let the feelings wash over her as she pulled Twyla closer to deepen the kiss. 

When they broke apart this time, both were gasping, Twyla levering up on her elbows to keep herself from laying fully on Stevie. Stevie wished she would let go and let all of that warm pressure sink into her own body. 

“Twyla, I want--I want to keep exploring this, but we’ve both been drinking and I normally wouldn’t let that stop me from, you know, sex but…”

She wanted to do this right. Stevie didn’t want to wake up to find out that she had fallen harder than the person she was sharing a bed with, again. She couldn't bear it if this was all an alcohol fueled dream and while she doubted it was, she didn’t want to risk it. 

“We can just sleep, Stevie. I’ve waited almost twenty years to do that again. I don’t need to rush anything.”

Stevie cupped the back of Twyla’s head and brought her lips down within an inch of Stevie’s own. ”But we could still make out a little, yes?”

“I think we could manage that,” Twyla laughed, leaning down to kiss Stevie.

_ Maybe this time I’ll win. _


End file.
